[293] I can testify to the truth of this statement, having carefully examined a thatch roof at Azangaro in Peru, which undoubtedly dates from the time of the Yncas. It is over the ancient circular building in that town, known as the Sondor-huasi. The outside coating consists of a layer of grass (Stypa Ychu: Kunth) two feet thick, placed in very regular rows, and most carefully finished, so as to present a smooth surface to the weather. Next there is a thick layer of the same grass placed horizontally and netted together with reeds, and finally an inner perpendicular layer:—the whole thatch being five feet thick, and finished with most admirable neatness. It has been said that the colossal and highly finished masonry of the Yncas, such as that of the palace at Tumebamba, formed a barbaric contrast with the poor thatched roof, but the Sondor-huasi proves that the roofs made by the Peruvians rivalled the walls in the exquisite art and neatness of their finish. See my Travels in Peru and India, p. 194.
[294] The Cañaris wore their hair long, and rolled it up in a knot on the top of their heads. On the knot of hair they fastened a wooden hoop, from which hung a fringe of various colours. The commoner sort, in place of this hoop, wore a small calabash over their hair, and hence the whole tribe was nicknamed by the other Indians Mathe-uma (Mathe in Quichua is a calabash, and Uma, head). G. de la Vega, i, lib. viii, cap. 4.
[295] Prickly pears.
[296] This name is not given by Velasco.
[297] The turkey buzzard, a carrion bird which acts as a scavenger in the streets of South American towns.
[298] The word used in Mexico.
[299] The chaquiras were very minute beads, which were so skilfully worked that the best silversmiths in Seville asked Garcilasso how they were made. He took some to Spain with him, where they were looked upon as great curiosities. G. de la Vega, i, lib. viii, cap. 5.
[300] The quipus, or system of recording events by means of knots.
[301] See also Garcilasso de la Vega, i, lib. ix, p. 311; and Acosta, lib. iv, cap. 14, p. 233. Acosta says that emeralds were found most abundantly in New Granada, and in Peru, near Manta and Puerto Viejo. The country round Manta, he adds, is called Esmeraldas, from the reported abundance of emeralds in it.
According to Ulloa the emerald mines of Manta, which were known to the Indians, were never discovered by the Spaniards. The skill of the Indians in working these precious stones is very remarkable. They are found in the tombs of the Indians of Manta and Atacames: and are, in beauty, size, and hardness, superior to those of New Granada. They were worked by the Indians into spherical, cylindrical, conical, and other shapes, and it is difficult to explain how this could have been done without a knowledge of steel or iron. They also pierced the emeralds with a skill equal to that of modern jewellers. Ulloa’s Voyage, i, lib. vi, cap. 11.